Sacrificio
by KitsuneMiyuKendraHyuga
Summary: Non-Massacre. "The two fellow ANBU received each a slash on their back." When the team is attacked and Sakura doesn't think as soon as a certain ANBU captain is involved. Seventh of my Italian story-arc.


A/N: seventh instalment of the Italian saga, after "Dimmi La Verità". It's not strictly indispensable to read the others first, but it surely helps.

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A week had passed since her Taichou had told her what he wanted from her. A week since she had discovered that Uchiha Itachi had feelings for her. A week since her teammates Shisui and Genma had begun to discreetly tease her (they would never dare tease their Taichou), until she had broken both their noses – only to heal them immediately afterwards. And a week since she had started having problems sleeping.

Sakura didn't really know what to do. She wasn't sure about her own feelings. She liked her captain, she had always liked him. But she had also always thought that it was only a platonic feeling. Therefore, she was terribly confused.

However, it wasn't the time to be confused. They were under attack. Shisui and Genma were fighting expertly, but their enemies seemed to have a very large quantity of chakra and the two ANBU had already been injured. Sakura was fighting together with Itachi, against seven opponents. She had taken down two of them, and the ANBU captain had killed three others.

The two remaining ones suddenly changed strategy and attacked Genma and Shisui.

Before either Itachi or Sakura could intervene, the two fellow ANBU received each a slash on their back. They fell to the ground with a scream, unconscious.

Itachi and Sakura exchanged the quickest glance ever. As usual, they were able to communicate without talking. The captain took the bodies of his team members and brought them to safety, while Sakura killed the two enemies with her precise senbons. Of the enemies Genma and Shisui were fighting, only one had remained. And it was against him that Haruno Sakura truly unleashed her deadly power.

She fought ferociously. Every move was precise and laden with chakra, making it ten times more powerful and forcing the last opponent to retreat a little. Large craters appeared everywhere around them, until a perfectly aimed punch finally destroyed the enemy.

Without even stopping, the medic extended her senses for Itachi. She found him not far from there, in a cave, which he was already beginning to protect with seals and genjutsu. The pink-haired woman had been careful not to use too much chakra in combat, in order to be able to heal her teammates if necessary. So she took off her gloves and began her work.

To her relief, the slashes weren't deep, nor were they poisoned. The enemies really had to work on their aim and strategy. While healing Genma and Shisui, Sakura couldn't help but notice that Itachi seemed on edge.

She asked quietly, "What's wrong, Taichou?" Even if she was embarrassed around him, they were on a mission, and their confused feelings couldn't prevent them from working together.

He didn't ask how she knew he was troubled. They had always been able to communicate without speaking, at least on the battlefield. So he answered, "Something was odd about the attack. We are still in the enemy's territory, and two of us are seriously injured."

The pink-haired woman shook her head. "Shisui and Genma are less hurt than it seems. As soon as they wake up, they're going to be fine. Their injuries weren't particularly serious."

That seemed to make Itachi even more pensive. He furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

When she was finished, she flickered a little the chakra she was using in order to make them wake up. Slowly, the two shinobi stirred, groaning.

"How are you feeling?" the medic asked.

It turned out that the two ninja were quite fine. They felt a slight sting in their backs, but it didn't make them unable to fight. So, after they rested for a short while, Itachi ordered to be ready to leave.

Still, his expression was worried. He scanned the area carefully, without sensing anything. Before removing the protecting seals, he murmured to his team, "Be prepared for anything. Something isn't right here."

They left the cave cautiously. No one was there. They went to the forest, quickly and carefully following the direction which would bring them back to Konoha.

All of a sudden, they felt people approaching. It was the same dark-clothed ninja that had attacked after they had freed an entire village, some months before.

They were nothing the ANBU team couldn't handle. They fought quickly and silently. As soon as most of them where down, they felt another group of them approach.

Itachi turned in their direction, ready to face them. And by doing so, he didn't notice a masked ninja coming from the bushes behind him, who had his chakra completely hidden. When he sensed him, the captain tried to dodge, but he knew he wouldn't be able to do so in time.

But Sakura noticed. She saw that the raven-haired Uchiha was about to be hit.

At the thought of Itachi being injured, her mind went blank. She didn't think. She simply acted.

As the enemy ninja was about to land a blow on the ANBU captain, Sakura appeared between the two.

And received the blow to the head.

She just had the time to murmur "Itachi…" before her eyes closed and everything became black.

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A/N: ... drama, drama ...

"Sacrificio" is in Italian and it means "sacrifice".

The next one, which is probably a little fast-paced, is going to be called "**Rapimento E Ritorno**".

Thanks for reading!

KitsuneMiyuKendraHyuga


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